1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to radio appliances and, more particularly, to clock radios.
2. Statement of the Problem
The Internet has fostered a host of new technologies including those involving Internet appliances such as a cell phone adapted to interconnect with the Internet.
Traditionally, it is common for a person to have a clock radio that provides sounds to aid in sleep or in which to wake by. An example of such a clock radio is available from Sharper Image Design as a xe2x80x9cCD Radio Alarm Clock with Sound Soother.xe2x80x9d Most household bathrooms also have a radio and/or a shower radio such as that also available from Sharper Image Design sold as xe2x80x9cAM/FM Digital Shower Companion.xe2x80x9d
A need exists to adopt the clock radio, bathroom radio and/or shower radio into an Internet appliance for delivery of timely information to the user in addition to the normal sleep and awake sounds, AM/FM programming, and time.
A method is provided for receiving messages in an appliance such as a clock radio, bathroom radio, or shower radio modified under the teachings of the present invention to retrieve messages from a remote computer, converting the retrieved messages into corresponding audio messages, generating a wake up signal to the user at a selected time in the radio appliance, starting the delivery of the audio messages from a speaker in the radio appliance in response to the generated wake up signal, and receiving audible commands in the radio from the user to control delivery of the messages. In a first embodiment, these method steps are performed in primarily in components in the radio appliance and, in a second embodiment, a remote computer performs all of the messages except delivery of the audio messages and receiving audible commands which occur at the radio appliance. Where two or more appliances are used, audio commands can cause the delivery of messages to stop in one appliance and resume in another appliance.